Application Process

Click on the dropdown arrows for more information.

Complete each step below in order to apply to the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program. 

Complete online Fresno City College application.

All applicants to the Respiratory Care Practitioner program must apply for admission to Fresno City College to obtain a SCCCD Student ID number prior to applying to the program.  If you are a current student at Fresno City College, you do not need to complete this step.  When applying you will be asked to declare a major, please select Pre-Allied Health.  Once accepted into the program your major will be changed to Respiratory Care Practitioner.

Application Requirements: 

• Completion of all six prerequisite courses
• A combined GPA of the six prerequisite courses at 2.75 or above
• All general education must be complete at the time of application

Program Prerequisite Courses

1. BIOL 20 - Human Anatomy OR BIOL 21A - Human Anatomy & Physiology I* 
2. BIOL 22 - Human Physiology OR BIOL 21B-Human Anatomy & Physiology II* 
3. BIOL 31 - Microbiology
4. CHEM 3A - Introduction to General Chemistry (or college equivalent) 
5. MATH 3A - College Algebra or STAT C1000 Intro to Statistics or transfer-level math 
6. ENGL C1000 - Academic Reading and Writing - starting 2026

 *The anatomy and physiology sequence must be completed as listed in the course catalog. (i.e BIOL 20 and BIOL 22 or BIOL 21A and BIOL 21B).

Prerequisite courses must be complete at time of application with a letter grade of "C" or better. "Pass" or "Credit" grades will only be accepted if completed prior to 2024. Science courses with in-person or online labs are acceptable. FCC BIOL 24 will not fulfill any of the science prerequisite requirements.

GPA of 2.75 or above

The 2.75 GPA requirement will be calculated based on the six prerequisite courses only.

General Education Completed

All general education for the FCC local associates degree must be complete at the time of application. The GE requirement may also be met by completing the Cal-GETC (the CSU or IGETC GE pattern will be accepted, if completed). If you have questions about which GE pattern you are eligible to complete, please meet with a counselor to review.

A conferred associate degree for transfer (AA-T or AS-T) or a conferred bachelor's degree from a institutionally accredited institution will fulfill this requirement.

Applicants with courses from outside State Center Community College District

Applicants who would like to use prerequisite or general education courses completed from outside of SCCCD should meet with a Fresno City College Counselor.  The counselor will assist in determining whether the Course Substitution Petition process needs to be completed.  This process should be completed before applying to any Allied Health Program.  Students with courses from a California public community college or university may use the following links to determine equivalency of courses from outside institutions with Fresno City College:

C-ID

ASSIST

If a Course Substitution Petition is needed, courses must be evaluated by each department for possible approval.  The required documents to initiate the review of a course are a copy of the official transcript and the course syllabus.  This is a lengthy process and must be done at least 2-3 months prior to submitting an application.  All approved FCC course substitutions must be submitted with application.

 Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

Appropriate credit for AP scores recognized by Fresno City College may be applied to meet general education requirements. Please submit with your Respiratory Care program application an unofficial copy of the AP College Board scores for any course you would like considered to meet program course requirements. Students must submit an official copy of their AP College Board scores to Fresno City College in order to receive college credit.

Applicants using Foreign Education courses

Students who have completed courses outside of the United States must have foreign transcripts evaluated by an evaluation services approved by Fresno City College. Please meet with a Fresno City College Counselor/Health & STEM Pathway Counselor.

The Respiratory Care Program Application must be submitted during the application period.

The upcoming application period is January 14-February 11, 2026.

 A completed application must contain the following:

1. Online Respiratory Care Practitioner Program Application. Please list all colleges attended on the program application including Fresno City College and all affiliated campuses.  Failure to list all colleges previously attended may result in your application being denied. If you submitted an application during a previous application period you must complete and submit a new application in order to be considered in the next lottery.

2. Submit one (1) official college/university transcript from each school attended outside of SCCCD.  If you have attended Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College or Madera Community College you do not need to submit transcripts from those institutions.  All prerequisite and general education coursework must be completed at the time of application and grades must be posted on the transcript.

Transcripts may be submitted one of two ways:

E-Transcripts can be sent by the institution to Fresno City College Admissions and Records Office: transcripts@fresnocitycollege.edu

OR

Sealed official transcripts can be mailed by the institution or the student to the following address:
Fresno City College 
ATT: Admissions & Records (ATT: Transcripts)
1101 E. University Ave
Fresno, CA 93741

If applicable to the applicant, submit the following documents by uploading them to the online Program Application:

• Veteran or a spouse of a veteran requesting veteran preference requires submission of a copy of the DD214 from.

• Course Substitutions - include a copy of approved Course Substitution(s) for prerequisite and General Education courses. 

• AP College Board Results

Drop-In Application Q&A Dates and Times

Application Q&A will be available virtually on the following days and times via Starfish. After logging in you will be added to a list and receive a phone call from a counselor before the Q&A time ends. Click on the link below during designated days/times to add yourself to the waitlist:

Available January 13 - February 11, 2026

Tuesdays 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Thursdays 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

Fridays 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1. After submitting the Respiratory Care Practitioner Application a confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided on the application.  You may need to check your junk folder if you do not see it in the Inbox.
2. Accepted and Alternate applicants will be notified by email.  
3. If you are accepted into the program a response is required to confirm your acceptance. If a response is not received by the deadline then your placement will be forfeited and your file closed.
4. If you are not accepted into the program, then you do not need to respond.
5. Check "Important Dates to Follow" for response deadlines.
6. All communication from the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program will be sent to the email address provided on the application.

Lottery Process

Fresno City College utilizes a computerized statistical lottery selection process for admission into the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program.  The Lottery Process is used in response to more eligible applicants than enrollment space to the Allied Health Programs.  The lottery is student driven, which means the student is responsible for supplying all transcripts and supplemental documentation required. To be included in the Lottery, the program application must be completed and all transcripts and supplemental documents included or it will be considered incomplete and processing will be terminated.  All qualified applications received before the stated deadline will be treated equally regardless of the submission date.

All applicants who meet the application requirements are included in the lottery.  After the lottery is complete, applications are evaluated to confirm eligibility. Applicants are then notified of selection into the program.

Admitted Applicants Begin Summer 2026

Upon selection into the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program students must confirm acceptance to participate in the program and must attend a mandatory orientation.  Information about the orientation will be provided at the time of selection.  Failure to attend will result in forfeiture of program placement.

Upon admission to the program all immunizations, health exams, CPR requirements, transportation verification, consents, etc. must be met prior to beginning the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program.  More information provided at the the time of admission.

Accepted applicants will begin the program in the summer term with enrollment in RCARE 101.  This introductory course provides students with a more detailed overview of the program and the opportunity to explore the profession.

After successful completion of RCARE 101, students will be enrolled in the next available Fall cohort.  If demand exceeds spaces available, then students could be placed on a waitlist.

Program Handbook

Program schedules vary according to semester. For more program details please refer to the RCP Student Handbook.